First MiG-29 Fighters Already In Ukraine - Slovak Defense Ministry

The first four MiG-29 fighters were safely handed over to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This was stated in the statement of the Ministry of Defense of Slovakia on Thursday, March 23.

The department noted that the rebasing of the fighters was carried out by Ukrainian pilots with the help of the Slovak Air Force.

"I thank everyone involved for the excellent professional work. Slovakia is on the right side, and with this gesture, we as a country have entered with capital letters in modern world history, which speaks of timely assistance, sincere solidarity and the greatness of the nation," said Minister of Defense Jaroslav Nagy.

In the coming weeks, the rest of the aircraft will be transferred to Ukraine, but for operational reasons, the department does not provide any details. The receipt of the fighters will be confirmed immediately after the safe handover to the Ukrainian side, as in this case, the Slovak Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, on March 17, the Slovakian government decided to transfer 13 MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine at an extraordinary online meeting.

On March 16, it became known that Poland could provide Ukraine with MiG-29 fighters within the next four to six weeks.

It will be recalled that at the end of January 2023, the mass media reported that Western officials and diplomats began discussing the possibility of transferring fighter jets to Ukraine.